A gold medal awarded to Fred Schule for his victory in the 110-meter hurdles at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics is now up for auction. This rare piece of Olympic history is part of a broader auction featuring memorabilia from various Olympic Games spanning decades.
The medal, inscribed with “Olympiad, 1904,” showcases an athlete holding a wreath on the front, while the reverse depicts Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, alongside Zeus, the king of gods. It also features the specific event for which the medal was awarded. The piece includes the original ribbon and leather case.
The 1904 Olympics, the first to be held in the United States, were notable for awarding gold medals, with Americans dominating the Games by securing 78 of the 96 events. Unlike modern Olympic medals, which are primarily silver with gold plating, these original medals were smaller and made entirely of gold.
Bobby Eaton, an Olympic specialist at Boston’s RR Auction, emphasized the rarity of such medals coming to auction, particularly those from Fred Schule’s family collection. “No one really knows how many 1904 Olympic gold medals are still in existence,” Eaton stated. “What we do know is that they’re exceedingly rare. Many of the approximately 100 gold medals awarded in St. Louis have been lost or are now held in private collections and museums.”
The 1904 Games were also marked by controversy and oddities. Originally scheduled for Chicago, the Games were moved to St. Louis after disputes between organizers of the World’s Fair and Olympic officials. St. Louis organizers feared the competition for attendance and even threatened to hold their own athletic events. It was Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic movement, who ultimately intervened to resolve the issue.
The 1904 Games were also notorious for incidents such as Fred Lorz’s marathon victory, which was disqualified after it was revealed he had ridden part of the race in a car. Additionally, “Anthropology Days” were held, where indigenous people from around the world were forced to participate in athletic events without warning.
The Games introduced boxing and freestyle wrestling to the Olympics and featured sports like croquet and tug-of-war, which have since been discontinued.
“These medals aren’t just about the competition—they represent a pivotal moment in the early history of the modern Olympics,” Eaton remarked. “To have a medal like this, in such exceptional condition, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for collectors.”
The auction includes a wide range of Olympic memorabilia, including a bronze medal from the 2024 Paris Olympics, as well as gold medals from the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the 1998 Nagano Olympics, and the 2012 London Olympics.
Olympic memorabilia has long been a lucrative market. In 2022, a silver medal awarded to German long jumper Luz Long at the 1936 Berlin Olympics sold for over $488,000. Other notable sales include a first-place silver medal from the 1896 Athens Olympics, which fetched $180,111, and a 2010 Winter Olympics gold medal, which sold for $68,750 in 2019.
Athletes have also auctioned off their medals for charity. In 2022, two-time canoe champion Yuri Cheban from Ukraine sold his two golds and a bronze for $109,451 to support the war effort. Swimmer Ryan Lochte auctioned off his six Olympic silver and bronze medals the same year, raising $166,779 for a children’s charity, though he kept his gold medals.
The next Summer Olympics will take place in Los Angeles in 2028, marking the city’s third time hosting the Games after 1932 and 1984.
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